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The controversial hunt for Minke Whales in Iceland has come to an end. The increasing costs and declining profits have led to the closing of whaling companies in Iceland. Iceland and Norway openly defies the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on whale hunting.

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Agriculture Ministry has suggested several measures to boost agri exports to $60 billion by 2022.The measure include green logistics corridor for perishables, setting up a system for forecasting demand , use of e-commerce, strengthening of domestic regulatory authority, review of Essential Commodity Act, involving Indian missions abroad, protecting farmers through appropriate duty instruments and special safeguard mechanism.The agri ministry has also suggested setting up of an administrative machinery for regular monitoring of the progress and to ensure that the goal is achieved by 2022. To achieve this the agri ministry has asked for a board of agriculture trade (headed by Commerce minister) and a centre for agriculture trade (consisting of experts and data analysts). The agri ministry has also recommended modernising export infrastructure across value chain, easing of logistics, establishing storage hubs , promotion of crops where imports are large, superfoods and brand promotion in global markets.

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The Justice Srikrishna committee recently submitted it's report on data protection law. Justice Srikrishna said data privacy is a burning issue and there are three parts to the triangle.The citizens rights have to be protected, the responsibilities of the states have to be defined but the data protection can't be at the cost of trade and industry. Important recommendations include : 1.The creation of Data Protection Authority of India (DPA). It will be an independent regultory body responsible for the enforcement and effective implementation of the data protection law. 2.Either create an appellate tribunal or grant powers to an existing tribunal to hear and dispose of any appeal against the order of DPA. 3.Personal data shall be processed only for purpose that are clear , specific and lawful. 4.Consent will be a lawful basis for processing of personal data. Individuals will have the right to withdraw consent. 5.All firms and agencies will have to appoint data protection officers. Firms will have to ensure atleast one copy of pesonal data to be stored in India. 6.Critical personal data shall only be processed in a server or data centre located in India. 7.Existing Acts such as Right to Information, Aadhaar and Information Technology will have to be amended to bolster data protection. 8.Penalties may be imposed for violations of the data protection law. Penalties range from 2-4% of a company's worlwide turnover or fines between Rs 5 crore and Rs 15 crore, whichever is higher. 9.Creation of data protection fund and data protection awareness fund through proceeds from the penalties and the fines. 10.The state can process data without consent of the user on ground of public welfare, law and order, emergency situations where the individual is incapable of providing consent. The law will cover processing of personal data by both public and private entities.

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The Trump administration is trying to create a new security and political alliance with six Gulf Arab states, Egypt and Jordan to counter Iran's expansion in the region.The paln is known as Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) or ARAB NATO. Tensions with Iran has increased since Trump announced in May that US was pulling out of a 2015 international deal to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions.

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Sonam Wangchuk (educational refromer from Ladakh) and Bharat Vatwani (psychiatrist who works for mentally ill street people in Mumbai) are among six winners of Magsaysay Award 2018. The other winners include, 1.Youk Chhang (Cambodia) 2.Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz (East Timor) 3.Howard Dee (Philippines) 4.Vo Thi Hoang Yen (Vietnam) Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia's highest honour.It is named after third Philippines President and is given every year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest selfless service and transformative influence.It is widely regarded as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize.

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NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission and MyGov has jointly launched "Innovate India Platform", a citizen-centric platform of Government of India. The portal will serve as the common point for all the innovation happening across the nation. Those searching for the critical innovation can leverage the portal for the benefit of the economy as well as national social needs. Important features of the platform include, 1.The platform is open to all Indian citizens. 2.The users can view, comment , share and rate the innovations crowdsourced on the "Innovate India Platform". 3.View the leaderboard which is calculated based on the votes on each innovation. 4.Citizens can share their/organizations/someone else's innovation on the platform by login to the MyGov website. 5.These innovations can also be shared on variuos social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter.

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The Reserve Bank of India announced in a notification that it will issue new Rs 100 notes under the 'Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series' shortly. The new Rs 100 notes will be lavender in colour and has motif of "RANI KI VAV" on the reverse. Rani Ki Vav is a stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat. The dimension of the new banknote will be 66mm X 142mm.

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India and Russia are expected to sign $1.1 billion deal for new medium lift helicopters to be used by both Defence and Home Ministry. The deal is regarding 48 Mi-17 V5 choppers which can be used for a range of missions. The Mi-17 V5 are used for support missions in hilly terrains, for the fight against Naxal extremism, used for VVIP duty to ferry top leadership, for various rescue missions and fire-fighting duties.

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The VC11184 is a Ocean Surveillance Ship being built for the National Technical Research Organisation. It is a nuclear missile tracking ship which will be part of India's nuclear missile shield.The project cost is Rs 725 crores.It is one of the largest warships to be built in India , weighing over 15,000 tonnes.

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According to Asian Development Bank report India will be the fastest growing economy in Asia and South Asia will continue to be the fastest growing economic area. As per the report, growth in Asia and the Pacific's developing economies for 2018 and 2019 will remain solid despite the rising trade tensions (protectionist trade measures) being a concern. As per the report , prudent macroeconomic and fiscal policymaking will help the region prepare to respond to external shocks.

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India recently became the vice-chair (regional head) of the Asia Pacific region of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for a period of 2 years upto June 2020. The organisation has divided its membership into six regions. Each of the region is represented by an elected vice-chairperson to the WCO Council. WCO represents 182 customs administrations across the globe which collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. WCO is an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.The WCO is noted for its work in various areas which includes among others international trade facilitation, customs enforcement activities, combating counterfeiting in support of Intellectual Property Rights, drugs enforcement, illegal weapons trading and integrity promotion. WCO also administers the technical aspects of the World Trade Organisation Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin.

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MoU was signed between IIT Delhi and All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) under which projects would be launched which aims to give scientific validation to the ancient medical science and integrate it with technology. The projects would be funded by the Ayush Ministry.

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Noah is a fully electric city car built by students from TU Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands). The car is made out of biocomposite with flax and sugar being the main component.The car weighs only 350 kilograms and seats two people.The Noah electric car is called as world's first circular car as it involves circular economy concept in the design process.

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The semi-high speed train manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai to promote Make in India is code named TRAIN 18. The train which runs at 160 kmph is expected to be rolled out in September. Train 18 does not require an engine to run as it will be self-propelled on electric traction like the metro trains. It will replace existing intercity express trains including Shatabdis. The train has striking features to enhance passenger comfort such as automatic doors, onboard Wi-Fi, infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, modular toilets with the bio-vacuum system, LED lighting, electro-pneumatic brake system etc.

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Rohit Sharma hit the third century in T20 international to power India to a seven-wicket victory against England at Bristol. Rohit Sharma and New Zealand's Colin Munro are the only batsmen to have scored three T20 International Centuries.

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Noah is a fully electric city car built by students from TU Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands). The car is made out of biocomposite with flax and sugar being the main component.The car weighs only 350 kilograms and seats two people.The Noah electric car is called as world's first circular car as it involves circular economy concept in the design process.

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Dipa Karmakar wins gold at Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup held at Mersin, Turkey. The Tripura girl won the gold at the vault event. This is Dipa Karmakar's first medal in a World Challenge Cup with a score of 14.150 points.